


Black and Blue

by EYES_HALF_OPEN



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Aged Up, Choking, Danny curses like a sailor forgive me, Danny is in college, Got that sexual tension, In which Vlad signs up for a dating app and Danny gets super possessive and jealous, M/M, Slowish burn?, WIP, he may or may not have a mega crush on Vlad, kind of enemies kind of not, spicy stuff happens in later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:20:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22456369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EYES_HALF_OPEN/pseuds/EYES_HALF_OPEN
Summary: In his last year of college, Danny makes it a habit of getting a little too invested in his enemies life.—————Basically a fic exploring how Danny’s and Vlad's relationship would be different when Danny is an adult
Relationships: Danny Fenton/Vlad Masters
Comments: 11
Kudos: 51





	Black and Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!! I’m not much of a writer but this ship holds a special place in my heart so I decided to actually make something. Feel free to tell me what you think! :D I plan posting more chapters soon.

“Yeah mom, I’m fine—- I’ll come visit soon don’t worry”

It’s been 3 years since Danny’s moved out of Amity Park, three long years since he applied to his parent's alma mater and got accepted. If you had told his past self that he’d be living on his own in Wisconsin during his 20s he’d  die laughing. That is if he wasn’t already half dead. Ridiculous right?

Danny sighs and sits the phone down after hanging up. College life wasn’t at all what he expected it to be. To put it short it lacked the exhilaration he felt when he was younger. He needed to go through with it though. Hero work sadly doesn’t pay the bills.

After sam and Tucker had gone out of state for college, he was alone in Amity left to think about his future, left to think about what he really wanted to do with his life. He missed his friends dearly but tailing after them was no longer an option. Wisconsin really seemed like a last resort. Not exactly his first choice of a school but he’s grateful nonetheless.

“SHit I’m late for work”

Not only that, he’s now juggling a job along with his classes. Seeing as Wisconsin isn’t nearly as ghost-ridden as Amity park, he should probably enjoy the time to actually be himself. But he’s come to the realization that maybe... this normal kind of life isn’t really him.

“Oh god I can’t find my hAT-AH” he yells while tripping over some clothing.

“Okay... note to self, clean the apartment...”

Danny pulls his hat out from under a T-shirt and hurries out the door. Another long predictable day.

——-

“Welcome back to work!” His coworker greets him with a smile”

“Thanks Ava, how have you been hangin’?” Danny asks while walking to the small break room to hang up his jacket.

“You know! the usual-” she replies walking not too far behind him. “We almost had 10 whole customers in the past 3 hours, that’s a new record!” She says sarcastically.

He chuckles at her response.

“You complain about having no customers but gripe when one walks through the door?”

“Oh shut up Danny” she replies laughing “you do the same and you know it”

He just snorts in response. “Can’t wait to start a real job...”

“I feel yah” she replies while sitting down at the manager's desk. Their manager was a bit of an...older guy. Always late and off somewhere else. Probably why business is so slow.

If there’s one thing Danny’s thankful for though, it’s meeting this eccentric girl. He met her last year when he accidentally bumped into her on his way to class. This place still feels so foreign but Ava’s really helped him come out of his antisocial bubble. Though they weren’t the closest of friends, he at least didn’t feel like such a recluse around the extrovert.

She’s s a little bit shorter than he is, brunette with glasses and a freckled face. She’s someone he’d probably be attracted to if he was still in high school. But his type has slowly shifted to... something a little different.

They work at this local coffee shop together not too far from the school, and despite the small distance, the place somehow manages to never be busy. Danny’s pretty thankful for it though. He prefers the relaxing environment.

He grabs his apron, tying it around his waist when the chime of the bell could suddenly be heard from the front.

“Oh speak of the devil, a customer!” Ava says looking at Danny with a smirk.

“I’ll go help them” Danny replies while rolling his eyes. He walks back to the front of the store leisurely.

As he takes the customer's order he can hear the small tv in the back being turned on and the sound of Ava flipping through some channels. Their manager would surely have their asses if they were caught watching it on the job. Aw well. He snorts to himself and puts on a cheery smile to give the customer their drink.

His arm is halfway outstretched when he hears it.

“We suspect it may be of a paranormal nature as ectoplasmic residue has been found at the scene of the crime, we advis-“

Danny’s eyes widen a bit but he hastily continues to hand the customer their coffee. He runs to the back as soon as the person turns to leave.

“Wait wait WAIt, turn the channel back!” Danny barks from the doorway.

“What?” Ava questions flipping back to some cartoons.

“Just-the news report, the ghost thing!”

She sighs and smiles. “Of course” he maayyy or may not have let it slip that he had an interest in ghost. Thankfully he’s been more careful lately about not letting people know he IS one. But that doesn’t mean he won’t blabber on about them. The nut didn’t end up falling that far from the tree after all huh.

“You and your ghost obsession”

“It is noT-“

The screen flickers back to the news channel interrupting his sentence.

“and the streets are currently being blocked off.” The reporter continues to speak but Danny's mind is still filled with questions... He didn't exactly get to hear the whole thing. Though It didn’t take long for him to spot the caption at the bottom of the screen reading “ _ Mysterious raids continue to threaten laboratories all around Wisconsin ”_

Danny whispers under his breath “so that’s it...” and bolts out of the room

“Danny where are you going?!” Ava yells.

“I uhhh just forgot! I left my hat in the car” and although this wasn’t  exactly a lie they both knew he was about to go snooping around trying to figure out the answer to the latest paranormal mystery.

Danny, I swear to god-

“I’ll be back I swear!”

“Danny If you leave this store that’s a write-up!” Ava yells, halfway out of the chair. But by the time she is standing, she can already hear the chime in the front indicating he’s left. She sighs and slumps back to her previous position. “Great, the boss man’s gonna kill me.”

———

Danny slips behind the store and makes sure the surrounding area is clear before transforming. It’s no lie that ghost hunting has become some kind of an outlet for him. It almost felt like a piece of home that he could always keep with him. Albeit a piece of home that often left him bruised and bloodied. But it’s something. 

“Laboratories...” Danny quietly mutters.

If he were his younger self he would jump headfirst into the sight of the crime, give it no thought, probably end up getting himself into a sticky situation. He’s learned over numerous years of trial and error that devising a plan is the key to a successful mission.

Danny smiles, plan already taking form in his head.  Step one, look for clues . He goes intangible and makes his way beyond the buildings.

“Find the scene of the crime...”

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath until he’s high above the city. He always loved the feeling of weightlessness that came with flying. Perhaps that played into his childhood dreams of being an astronaut. The wind in his hair, the cold, the rush of adrenaline. 

He squints and opens his eyes staring down at the serene view below. 

“Wow everything really just looks like a bunch of dots from up here hA... definitely not gonna find the lab like this” 

His eyes scan the city over, all of it looking like a jumbled mass.

“Okayyy I’m just gonna- yeah I’m just gonna google it” he says defeatedly. “Intuition can only go so far” He pulls out his phone and starts typing in what he knows

“Wisconsin laboratorryyyy—- ghost attackssss” Danny hits enter and waits for the results.

“OH bingo here we go”

—————

It’s almost nightfall when Danny arrives at the perimeters of the lab. He hides in some bushes when he sees men in suits chatting. They’re too far for him to hear even with his heightened senses but he tries to make out what they’re saying anyway.

” **you have arrived at your destinatio** -“

“ShiT SHIT-“ Danny whisper-yells almost dropping his phone. “Stupid google maps”

He holds his breath as he sees the guards turn their heads his way.

“Goddamnit” he whispers. The last thing he needed was another crime pinned on “inviso-bill”

He goes intangible when they start walking towards the shrubbery he’s in. He’s gotta stop forgetting he can do that... seconds later he’s phasing through the wall to get into the lab.

“Well someone turned out the lights” he whispers in remark. He could barely make out the shape of anything but there was a distinct eerie glow off in the distance. He makes his way in that direction whilst dropping his intangibility.

The sight before him was expected of course.

“Hmm...Yep, that’s ectoplasm all right”

the stuff grossed him out beyond belief. It was the same thing that his parents used as fuel for their weapons. the same thing that covered the walls of his parent's lab and the same thing that ran through his very veins.

His gloved hand runs along the sludgy substance. It isn’t your typical green ectoplasm either... it’s a deep fuchsia. But he knows that coppery smell anywhere. So similar to blood yet not. It illuminates the whole room with its pink glow to the point where it's almost entrancing.

“What would a ghost want with a laboratory...” he has a hunch of who did it of course. But he isn’t quick to throw names. There’s nothing more embarrassing than accusing the wrong ghost for something they didn’t do. And  nothing more embarrassing than getting his ass kicked for said assumptions...

Furrowing his eyebrows, Danny floats back over to the other room. He creates an energy ball with one hand so he can see better.

“ _ Whoa _ ”

The walls are littered with claw marks, ugly gashes, tables disarray, but what stood out to him the most was the lack of things missing...

“Some raid huh?”

“There was definitely a fight of some sort...” He fallows the battered walls as he floats further into the room. His eyes widen when the sound of a door opening can be heard some distance away.

“Fuck” he whispers in a venomous tone.

His eyes dart around for somewhere to hide. He can already hear the click of their shoes. He may be able to go intangible but there’s no telling what kind of equipment those men have... the footsteps draw nearer and nearer. In a moment of desperation, he flies up and phases through the floor above him.

His heart pounds in his chest.

“That was close...way too fucking close...” he says, breath ragged.

He did  not  have plans to be captured and experimented on. Not today. Not ever. He creates another energy ball and gets yet another glimpse of a horror show.

Vials of all types, most missing, some on the floor, and the familiar green glow capturing his eyes.

  
“ _Oh_ ”

“Man this just gets weirder and weirder... a ghost... stealing ectoplasm? Cause that definitely makes sense.” Danny growls brushing his hand through his hair out of habit. 

“I need to get out of here”  


The smell was getting to him, almost suffocating him. His eyes then wander to a puddle that very much isn’t green. 

“Whatever that ghost wanted with these... it must be important”

blood. It was most definitely blood. He closes his eyes and holds his breath. Soon after, he flies up and phases through the roof.

Blood didn’t typically bother him. Not his own at least. But the thought that anyone could have gotten hurt made him fume with anger. And what's with all the ectoplasm? He has a feeling that whoever did it wasn’t finished either. Time for part two of the plan.

Danny sighs and pulls out his phone to set up his gps. He also turns off his sound in advance... can’t have  that happening again. He had previously googled which laboratories had already been hit and came to find a pattern in the locations.  Next stop Minneapolis...

He’ll capture this ghost before it even has the chance to rob another lab. Or at least figure out who the ghost is. Better to lay low at first. Maybe it’s far fetched to believe that the ghost would come out again tonight but it’s a chance he’s willing to take.

“Here goes one long flight” 

———-

When he arrives at the second laboratory it’s about 1 in the morning. He’s for sure going to miss class tomorrow. His bones ache with fatigue but he takes his land on the gravel outside the building and exhales.

It’s so quiet compared to the windy trip here. The only sound that fills the air is his own breathing and the chirp of crickets.

“I could probably fall asleep on the grass right now ughh”

Danny’s mind starts jumping to conclusions. What if he flew all the way out here for nothing? What if the ghost he’s after isn’t here? And god, the fly back is another exhausting hour. His plan was starting to seem less and less stable.

“Time for the moment of truth I guess”

It takes him no time to phase through the building and land on his feet.

“No ectoplasm this time huh?” he remarks, voice echoing off the walls.

Really, there wasn’t  anything  this time. The only thing he could see was the slight bit of tile illuminated by his own dim glowing form.

He creates an energy ball, this time bigger than the previous ones, and holds it up.

“Well that explains the echo”

It’s a long narrow hallway, walls white and clear of any mess. There are a few doors here and there as well. It seems to be bigger than the other lab. His eyes adjust to the sudden change in light.

“This place is makin’ me feel claustrophobic...”

Checking out all the rooms in this building would surely take a while. Where would be the best place to hide? Danny knows the ghost is after the samples of ectoplasm. Or at least he can assume that from the evidence.

He suddenly picks up the muffled sound of something in the distance, a clang like noise, as if metal is hitting metal. He can feel his heartbeat quicken and sweat begin to form.

His ghost sense hasn’t gone off yet which is a good thing... but someone could still be here.

“Remind me again why I’m doing this...” Danny whispers to himself

He lifts up off the ground and begins floating towards a door. He then proceeds to phase half his body in.

“Hmm”

Small cages align the walls, and a faint squeaking could be heard. Lab rats huh?

He phases out of the room and continues on down the hall. Maybe the sound came from there, maybe-

Another metal clang interrupts his thoughts.

“Shit...”

He eyes the next door in dread. Danny takes a deep breath preparing himself for the unknown. Perhaps it was just someone here past work hours yeah? Sure. It’s now or nothing. He phases through the door and lands on his feet in a fighting stance.

The room is dimly lit but notably empty.

He keeps his posture but continues to eyeball the perimeter with haste.

_ CLANG _

“AHH-oh” Danny jumps up in fear and turns to see a small creature scurrying to the corner of the room.

He sighs in relief and laughs nervously.

“A rat? How’d you get out here, little guy?”

He kneels down to get a closer look.

“C’mere I won’t bite”

The rat tilts its head and Danny smiles.

“You know you’re pretty cu-

He suddenly freezes, feeling a cold wisp of air go past his lips.

Danny’s eyes widen when the unexpected sound of material flapping can be heard. As if his body is now moving in slow motion, he attempts to stand and turn, only to be toppled down before he can even process what’s happening.

Suddenly there’s a heavy weight pinning his arms and legs down on the floor. His heartbeat thumps so loud he swears he can hear it.

“I see you’ve decided to drop by little badger...~” A voice purrs quietly, face all too close to Danny’s ear.

_ Vlad _

He should have known.

Danny’s breath hitches and face reddens. The tone of Vlad’s voice sent shivers down his spine and not in a bad way.

He shifts uncomfortably when the weight of Vlad’s knees dig painfully into his own and phases out of Vlad’s hold.

“And I see you’re back to doing no good, old man” Danny growls out, now a few feet away from the other.

A low chuckle could be heard and Vlad disappears and reappears behind Danny. Danny turns, this time fast enough to dodge Vlad’s attack. He then sends an ectoplasmic ray towards Vlad so that he can further the distance between the two.

“Silly tricks won’t work on me, boy.” Vlad says while redirecting the attack back at Danny.

Danny yells then just barely jumps out of the way.

“Damn you...” Danny grumbles. His own attack had seared right through a small portion of his suit and a bit of his skin. It slightly burned but was bearable.

Truth is they did this often. The game of cat and mouse they played had only gotten more intense since he’s moved here. He’s almost thankful it’s Vlad and not some other ghost though.

Admittedly their relationship had grown into a confusing one. Not so much enemies as they were competitive confidants. But that didn’t stop the fighting. He didn’t really want to hurt Vlad per-say. He can’t deny caring for the idiot.

Ugh

But why should he care about Vlad anyways? He’s a criminal no matter the way you look at it.

He didn’t know- didn’t want to know.

The adrenaline of the fight was all he wanted to think about.

Danny mimics what Vlad had done earlier and makes himself intangible, zipping around the other to attack. He throws a ray in the opposite direction to throw Vlad off guard then sends another ray up at Vlad’s torso, successfully knocking him off his feet.

“You sure do learn fast, don’t you?” Vlad says, although it’s far from a compliment as his teeth are bared in anger.

They continue to dodge attacks back and forth, Danny struggling to land any on Vlad, making him grow agitated.

“What do you even think you’re doing here?!” Danny yells out in between huffs of breaths.

Vlad just smiles and disappears once more.

Danny turns around expecting to dodge an attack from behind again, only to be grabbed from the opposite direction and slammed by the throat up against a wall.

“I’d ask you the same thing...” Vlad says, his voice gravelly. Danny finds his mind come to a halt as the hand around his throat tightens. He feels the unwanted heat pull in his stomach once more. His limbs feel like jelly under the other mans grip, and all he can muster is a choked growl.

Fuck fuck he hated himself. Dammit.  This _shouldn’t_ feel good.

Danny’s eyes remain averted but Vlad stares him down in curiosity. He could simply phase out of this situation if he wanted to but it seems the simplest thoughts struggle to cross Danny’s mind when he’s like this.

Vlad watches as Danny’s face grows redder and redder until finally he lets up on his hold and places his hand on the other’s shoulder. The sound of Danny’s panting now fills this air.

“If you really have to know, I’m just getting some unfinished business done.” Vlad says quietly, seeing as he’s still standing so close to the other.

“I-saw-I saw blood”

Danny says weakly, trying to ignore the obvious lack of distance.

“That was  _ my  _ blood”

Danny looks up guiltily.

_ Oh _

“That doesn’t excuse stealing things that aren’t yours”

“You don’t even know what I’m doing boy” Vlad replies after sighing.

“Well then what  are you doing? ”

Vlad gets uncomfortably close now and Danny's eyes widen a bit. He opens his mouth about to say something when suddenly his wrists are grabbed and a clicking noise can be heard.

“What the fu-“

“Quite frankly it’s none of your business.”

Danny stares down at the glowing cuffs around his wrist in shock then back up at Vlad in disbelief. Where did those even come from?!

Before Danny can even say anything, he feels his legs grow Incredibly weak. He gasps as his balance begins to dwindle. His cuffed hands attempt to grab onto Vlad, but Vlad steps back. He watches as Danny’s legs finally give out, making him fall down with a thump.

“Wh-what did you do to me?!” Danny says in a fearful tone.

“Relax little badger. They’re simply energy canceling cuffs. They won’t harm you. Can’t have you meddling with my plans now can I?”

“You should know better than to  steal, _Plasmius_.”

“How do you think these scientists retrieved this ectoplasm? Do you think they asked the ghost nicely?  No.  Even seemingly good men steal, Daniel. Even so, I wouldn’t consider what I’m doing as stealing.”

Danny’s eyebrows furrow at the response.

“Yeah, you’re just gonna use this in another one of your ridiculous plots to take over the world or get more money or something. I know you through and through Vlad and I’m pretty sure you’re not taking ectoplasm out of the good of your heart.” Danny says sternly.

Vlad growls then takes a step forward to pick Danny up by the back of his suit. The pull on the elastic material causes the tear from earlier to become even wider.

“P-put me down!” Danny barks, face beginning to flush.

Danny lets out a small noise as Vlad roughly pushes him face-first onto a table, his legs hanging off the side and back facing Vlad.

“A good portion of the ectoplasm these scientists have is genetically mutated.” Vlad says in a matter-of-factly tone.

If it weren’t for his current position making it hard to breathe, Danny would have replied quickly.

“Genetically mutated much like you and I”

Vlad's hand then begins to graze up the back of Danny’s thigh.

The words seem to die on Danny’s lips at the slightest brush of Vlad’s hand. His nerves lit a fire, making him feel fuzzy. Did Vlad know what he was doing to him? It was driving him mad. There’s no way he could be this oblivious.

Vlad pulls his hand back and finishes his explanation.

“And those madmen have no clue what they’re dealing with... do you even have the slightest idea what they could do with this-this mutated dna?! I was lucky to even make it out alive at the other lab. They had planned for my arrival! I expected someone to do the same here but had no clue  _you’d_ be the one arriving.”

Danny’s eyes widen not even knowing what to say.

Maybe Vlad... wasn’t in the wrong after all?

Vlad makes his way around the other side of the table so that Danny can actually see him. His eyes illuminate his face is this dull lighting... it’s hard to look away from them.

“A pleasant surprise really” Vlad says smile creeping on his face.

God, he could be such a weirdo. Danny rolls his eyes.

“Anyways...”

Vlad leans down close to Danny’s face now. Danny can hear the sound of metal jingling so he turns his gaze in front of him only to be met with Vlad's toothy grin. Ugh.

“I better get going, it was nice sparing with you Daniel~”

 _Sparing_?!

“W-wait!” Danny barks.

Vlad lifts back up and holds the keys above Danny’s head like he’s a dog. Danny wiggles further onto the table to get them but fails to garner the strength.

“I guess I should leave these here for you hmm?” Vlad says while chuckling. He drops the keys just a little too far from Danny. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Danny lets his head hit the table with a light thump as he growls in defeat.

It’s gonna take all night to reach those keys. When he lifts his head back up he sees that Vlad has already vanished.

“You’re such an asshole” he says into the empty room.

_ Yeah, this was no longer hot.  _


End file.
